The second day, at the training field.

Elaeria sat down for a break, wiping sweat from her forehead and taking a drink of fresh water from the canteen she had taken from the supply wagon. All across the field in front of her students sparred, many still wielding wooden swords as proof the Arms Master had yet to deem them sufficiently skilled to wield the blunted steel weapons still in their racks. One of those weapons was on the grass next to her, symbolic of her skill. In actual fact she had not had to prove her skill; the Master had known her reputation and along with a select few others she had been granted use of a blunted blade immediately.

A small smile crept across her lips as she remembered the numerous young men challenging her to spar, thinking an 'upstart' woman to be an easy target. Many of them were now nursing broken hands by the medic's pavilion, a painful lesson not to underestimate their opponent. The Lord Arn from Arnst had provided a much better challenge but she had still prevailed multiple times, choosing to stick with the man as a sparring partner as he could keep up with her. Nevertheless, her thoughts drifted to the more sobering event; the duel in which Sir Henry had been wounded by foul play. Normally she would not care for a man of another nation but she found herself fond of the young man's idiotic chivalrous disguise; the duel had brought out a ruthlessness in him which she had been surprised to see. Nearby she could hear her familiar, the large black dragon the other noble students were afraid to go near, snorting in irritation.

You know there's real fighting to be had elsewhere. A short trip to the medical ward...

She gave the dragon a sharp look, cutting off the end of his sentence.

It is none of my business. I did not come here to get caught up in another country's affairs.

We shall see...

Standing up she flicked up the steel blade and strode through the rings marked in the mud, signalling the sparring rings the students were commanded to duel in. She eyed the blood splatter on the ground near one, one of the sharpened steel blades still stuck in the ground where Sir Henry had leaned on it earlier to prevent himself keeling over. Ignoring it she pressed on towards the archery range; she was in too foul a mood to be challenged to a duel by any more fools.

As she left the sparring area some tension was let out but was quickly regained with the Arms Master noticed the slacking off and roared at them to carry on.

"No one leaves until they've won at least three bouts!"

Caroline, dressed in brown leather, rested standing up, letting her dull blade support some of her weight. She had been in three matches allready, two of which she had come out on top. Once more she thanked her grandfather under her breath for his insistamce she learn swordplay. She watched the two she had beaten, a boy and girl who had failed to introduce themselves, as they sat under the shade of a pavilion. As her thoughts drifted, she remembered watching Elaeria, the princess of Fristha, spar. As soon as she had seen the older girl take a blade, she had known why they called her the "Warrior Princess". Caroline shuddered and sincerely hoped that she would never give that girl reason to weild a sword against her. Looking around, she saw a surprising number of people still on the field. As she started counting them out of idle curiosity, she accidentally caught the eye of a particularly rough looking girl with a black snake slithering beside her. Caroline froze in place, suddenly afraid like a finch who just saw a hawk on the next tree. She tore her gaze away, hoping the girl hadn't noticed her but almost certain that she had.

Revaz looked at the man, no, at the boy in front of her, something something from Arnst. Didn't remember his name and just looking at its combat stance she guessed it wasn't something she should care to remember. She didn't hesitate to remove her eye from her unworthy adversary to look at the Arms master. She looked exasperated.

-God damn hell.

You could leave after 3 win, which meant all the people who actually had any amount of skills would now leave.

-Alright then, prepare yourself, you little bird crap stain!

She didn't even bother to raise her sword and merely advanced at a brisk pace toward her adversary who was still in combat position. Of course a strike on her left as expected, a little too soon but people that used longswords to have reach always made their attack all to predictable and way too soon as to use said reach. Effortlessly, Revaz lifted her sword not to block (Only suckers would block a full swing sword blow), but to deflect the blade at an angle that wouldn't hit her. Her opponent tried to retreat in a defensive position and make a step backward but was confused by the fact that Revaz didn't stop advancing and placed one of her legs right between his. This proximity forced him to try and pull back even more but this combined with Revaz pushing even more only made him fall backward.

On the ground, the guy tried to quickly make a strike for Revaz's legs but found her sword to be on his way. He didn't have the position to make a full speed blow and Revaz merely stopped the strike and pushed the other way it came from. The man was forced as the blade twisted in an angle impossible for his wrist to hold to drop his sword.

-And just like that, you are dead.

Revaz looked at the boy, he looked at her. After a second of silence, he grunted in pain as Revaz swiftly hit him in his left side with her sword. What forced you to learn your lesson if there was to pain in defeat? How merciful she was.

-And another sssssplandid victory for ussss, Revaz.

-I didn't see you do anything, snake.

-Now now, my self, we are two sssides of the sssame coin you and I, are we not as sssuch as much accountable as each other in victory and defeat?

Revaz frowned. How did she dislike her Familiar's tendency to call himself Revaz and refer to herself as himself.

-I'm still humiliated that my 'Other side' is the sneakiest of snake, so why don't you shut up unless you have something important to say, wretched thing. Fuck. Little warrior princess there has a damn dragon and what do I get?! Anyways... I can't believe I waited to face Henry 'Greatest Admiral Ever' Charlton only to have him break a bone on me. Arrrrg, I NEED MY DAILY DOSE OF ELIANST TEARS!

-Well now, perhaps another adversary shall quench this thirst? Turn around, I spy with my little eyes, her honorable ladyship Caroline McArthur.

Revaz turned around and looked as Caroline did the exact thing, in the other direction. Revaz had a predatory smile.

-Hey, HEY YOU! Your ladyship Caroline McArtuuuuur...

She said so with the most ridiculous and insulting Elianst accent she could muster.

-Your admiral broke a bone on me and I swear my boot will taste Elianst ass today. So why don't you get over here, for honor, glory or whatever this is a challenge.

Normally Caroline would have ignored the jibes and just walked away, and she would have done just that today if the insult was directed only at herself, but the girl had just insulted Elianst as a whole. Turning back towards her, the fear in Caroline's eyes was instantly replaced by cold determination, bordering on anger. She lifted the thin sword, the lightest blade available, and stepped into a ring. Never answering, and never taking her eyes off the challenger, she settled into a form almost as instinctual as walking, with one hand behind her back, the other holding her sword. A slight crackling in the air announced the arrival of Caroline's familiar. Spark was giving off enough electricity that Caroline's hair was starting to stand on end. "Hey, come on Carol, don't do this. You only have to win one more match to move on, so why don't you pick someone else and be done with it?" Caroline barely moved her eyes, but she simply said "I'll make her my last win." and turned her full attention back to her opponent. Spark gave off even more electricity, making small lightning bolts jump from him, then as quickly as he had appeared he had vanished. He knew that once Caroline got like this there was very little anyone could do to stop her.

Medical Ward

Henry moaned quietly as he regained consciousness, the deep throbbing in his head proof that he was still alive at least. He gently reached up and felt his hair. It was stick and red and when he drew his hand into his vision he could clearly see the familiar red liquid spread across his fingers. Thankfully he had fallen on his front so the wound in his abdomen had kept solid pressure on it even while he had been swimming in and out of consciousness.

Vague memories came back to him; being hit over the head and then deliberately in his wounded stomach causing the fresh wound to open again, Henrietta screaming before suddenly going silent, footsteps receding down the corridor outside and then Gwen's arrival.

She went after him, in case you were wondering.

Granthar's deep voice boomed in his head and he winced at the sudden contact. Slowly, ever so slowly, he crawled onto his knees using the bed as support with one hand pressed against his wounded stomach. One of those who had been tending to him was lying with their throat cut open a few feet away and he closed his eyes for a moment, offering a prayer for their soul.

You're going to let her go alone, are you? I may have misjudged you, Henry of House Charlton.

Henry shot Granthar a glare, aware of his massive familiar's presence outside the window.

"I'm hardly in any condition to fight, you know." He said through gritted teeth as he stood up and began to stagger towards the doorway; it bit at him that his familiar had even thought for a moment he was a coward. A rough chuckle sounded from the window.

There's the warrior I know. I will grant you some of my strength to see you through. After all, if you die I die with you.

Energy returned to his limbs and his wound began to ache less, the blood seeping out from him slowing considerably. Straightening Henry nodded to Granthar before quickening his pace. He was in no condition to run but he could at least stride quickly. Decorative crossed spears on the wall caught his attention and he reached for one, testing its edge. It wasn't sharp but was not so blunt to no longer be deadly. He yanked it free from the bracket holding it, the other spear clattering to the floor but he was already off, his mind on the task at hand.

"Just hold him up Gwen, I'm on my way." He scowled, furious at himself for failing in his duties to protect Henrietta, his grip tightening around the spear in his hand.

---

Elaeria sank two more arrows into the target, one in the head where an eye would be and the other in the centre of the painted target on its chest. Sighing she unstrung the bow and returned it to the weapons rack. She was tired from the exertions of session and she could see most students were sitting and talking now with a few still battling out, presumably still in need of a third win. If she had been a charitable person she might have lost to someone on purpose but that was not her style; the weak had to make their way in the world just as much as the strong.

She glanced towards the Academy's main buildings for a moment but turned back when she heard her familiar snorting in amusement with a slight blush across her face, quickly disguising it with a scowl.

It's none of my business!

I said nothing. Nothing at all... Princess.

Revaz smiled, a smile filled with glee, arrogance and self confidence. The snake slowly began to circle around the dueling circle, extending of all his length to meet his own tail. somewhat akin to an Ouroboros, almost eating its own tail.

-Now now my friends, let us not be harsh, this is merely a duel of skill where the winner will gain honor and the loser valuable lessons, so it may foster friendship and understanding.

Revaz rolled her eyes.

-Whatever, I fight for fun and for laugh!

With this she charged with a bright smile. Caroline had the typical Elianst weapon: Quick, light and with a good range, while Revaz used a short sword: Quick, light and broad. Caroline may have had range but Revaz could put power behind her hits without risking breaking her sword plus, she had the advantage in the very close range combat she liked so much. Of course, the trick was to get in this range without receiving a trust from Caroline. Revaz wasn't born yesterday however and she had seen Elianst fighting technique, the opening move for such a weapon was extremely limited, especially if the enemy charged head on, it was either a forward trust or a side sweep. The second would be silly since it would require a movement that would take a second to make, which might as well be the whole day since it gave ample time to parry and attack. No, it would be a trust.

As she came in range, Revaz dexterously deflected the first blow from her adversary and kept going forward, seemingly attempting to trample over her enemy, although it seemed Caroline had more dexterity than others and was able to stay on her feet. Without giving a moment to think Revaz continued to assault with a strike from Caroline's left and although Revaz gave an opening, taking it would also leave Caroline even more open. Such was the Helgland way: Others, especially the Elianst, had too much to care about to actually use tactics into which they would purposefully make a sacrifice to achieve some gain. It was psychological, Helgland didn't have anything to lose in their piece of crap country and everything to gain from defeating an invader. In this fight, it was notable that Revaz stroke fast, but stroke hard. Her blade was the same weight as Caroline's but much more compact, as such Caroline's sword was, in comparison, weaker structurally and couldn't take full on blows all that well.

At this point Revaz was extremely close to Caroline and could smell the perfume on her adversary. It seemed familiar. Hell, maybe it was the same she used, she had pillaged it from Elianst after all!

Another strike, this time from up above, to keep Caroline on her toes. As she saw the eyes of her enemy, even for a second, follow the movement of her sword upward, Revaz used her second hand to creep up on Caroline's sword arm and try to wrestle with it. In Elianst custom of course, there was no use for the other hand, to use it in combat was dishonorable. Revaz didn't particularly care, this didn't extant to Helgland fighting style where a limb was there to be used in combat.

As Revaz forced her way forward, her forehead pushing against Caroline's, she smiled with Arrogance.

-I'll destroy you, like I destroyed the lives of your peasants while cowards like you hid in their castles, Elianst whore!

Her grandfather's lessons returned to Caroline as she was charged. Never be predictable. Open up your attacks differently every battle. Caroline stepped forward into the charge and brought the hilt of her sword up into her opponent's stomach. Turning her sword upward, she caught the leftward blow on her crossguard. The girl backed off a step and swung downward, Caroline raised her sword to catch the blow, and saw the other girl's free hand reach up. Honor is only a boon if your opponent has it. Anything your opponant does is an invitation for you to do the same. Caroline's left hand came out from behind her back and straight into the other girl's stomach, right where her first blow had landed. Finally, when the girl spoke, Caroline's eyes flashed rage which instantly cooled to determination. Do not fall for your enemy's taunts. Instead focus on returning the insult with your blade.

Granthar ran towards the medical ward, spurred into action by some silent signal. The only thought through Gwen’s mind was that something bad had happened to Henry. And if something happened to Henry then Henrietta might be trouble. Fenrir followed the tiger, although he made sure not to outrun Gwen by too far. One thing that struck Gwen the most was the utter lack of people around so close to the school. Of course class was in session, but there had to be some groups that were on break…

Her attention focused back on the familiars as they turned the corridors. I smell Henriette and a man and… a strong scent of Langer root. Fenrir sniffed the air and relayed back his findings. Damn. This wasn’t good. Langer root when use in small doses help people sleep, but when concentrated it can knock a grown man in a few seconds.

“Granthar, stay with Henry! Fenrir lead the way!” She commanded the familiars, even though Granthar was not her’s to command. But she didn’t wait. She only had time to glance at Henry who still layed there crumpled on the floor and a medic laying in a pool of blood with her throat slit. She had no time to check on him, but if Granthar was still here than Henry was still alive.

She followed Fenrir through twists and turns, making their way to unknown parts of the school. She only had time to grab a fire poker from a stand as she passed by. It would have to do.

He’s close. She slowed her pace and Fenrir did likewise. Through their bond she spoke ‘The only way we can get the upper hand is with surprise. Go around and block his escape.’ She could feel Fenrir’s reluctance even though he made no comment against her wishes.

The room the kidnapper entered was large. From the wetness in the air, maybe it connected to the water source supplying the building. A long staircase against the side of the wall was the only way to go down to the floor below. The man had Henrietta slung over a shoulder.

“Stop!” Gwen shouted. The man did not flinch or was in any visible way startled, instead he turned around and threw a knife at her. Luckily with the distance between them it gave Gwen ample time dodge. However she lost her balance on the damp stone and stumble down the stairs only regaining her balance when she was on the ground. The poker she held dropped to the floor not far, but it might as well have been in her room.

The kidnapper rather than pay attention as Gwen made a fool of herself, made his way to the other side where a large door was slightly ajar. He ran carrying Henrietta. The blonde’s face burned with embarrassment as she shouted for the kidnapper to stop, at least no one saw that. She left the poker where it was and ran after the two. For a man carrying a girl around, he sure moved fast.

They passed through a narrow corridor and it connected to the stream that flowed into the castle. There was a ledge against the wall just wide enough for a single person to walk through. And Gwen saw light at the end. The barred gate that should’ve kept the opening impassable to people and animals wasn’t there and it was probably the way the kidnapper came in.

She could feel her legs and lungs burning. She might’ve been trained in fencing, but she was still very much a lady of the court. By no means was she unfit, but the constant sprint from the training fields through the castle was pushing her to the limit. But the lady could only try to ignore the pain. Her pace was slowing down and that mongrel was getting further and further away with Henrietta!

Tears stung her eyes. She wasn’t going to make it. She really wasn’t going to make it. She had let down her queen and Henry. And those thoughts were silenced. It was the same silence when Fenrir came to her. Without thinking, she waved her hand before her and the water from the stream flowing besides them, lept up and froze over the ledge. The silence in her mind still remained as she pushed any last bit of energy she had left into her legs.

The man slipped just as he reached the entrance. Henrietta was tossed pass the entrance and onto the grass. Gwen stepped on the fallen man before he could push himself back up and ran over to Henrietta. The first thing Gwen did was to check for injury and found nothing. The girl was still out cold, but Gwen had her now. The joy was short lived when heard an outraged cry. She looked up just in time to see the man charge at her.

The hilt of the sword? Surprising, but had the same problem as the other non-trust movements, being that a maneuver to place the sword in the right angle was needed and it reduced the range of her attack, both giving Revaz time to react and place herself in an angle that cushioned the blow.

Second was of course the hit to the stomach, but where intellect failed Revaz and favored Caroline, Revaz compensated by physical superiority, her muscles, constitution and expertise in hand to hand combat allowing her to mostly shrug of this hit. She, like Caroline, had a leather armor to dampen cushioned sword hits, blunt hits much more powerful than a mere fist.

-I almost felt a tickle!

With this, Revaz used her hold on Caroline's arm to present her shoulder to Caroline's chest and then pulled, making Caroline fly above her to then make her fall violently on the ground on the other side, pinning her, and most importantly her sword arm, on the ground. With her other sword arm, she then trusted downward on Caroline's heart.

-And just like that, you lose.

-Draw!

-What?!

Revaz turned toward the snake as it spoke and noticed something, Caroline's sword. She looked at her hand. It was pinned and the sword was indeed there, but Caroline held the hilt with almost only 2 fingers, having made the angle of the sword face Revaz, it now touched Revaz's side.

-Oh come on! This is a god damn joke, this wasn't even a blow, it's touching me, so what? She'd still be dead and I wouldn't have a single scratch.

-Perhapsss, perhapsss not. But the rules of dueling are as sssuch, contact with the blade means defeat, and sssince contact was made at the sssame time, it is a draw.

Revaz looked at Caroline with annoyance, a hint of disgust also showing. She got up, freeing Caroline from under her weight and a second after threw her short sword on the ground, the blade impaling the earth 2cm from Caroline's face. Revaz spat on Caroline's chest.

-Rematch, fistfight until unconscious, a clear winner and a clear loser.

This time it was the Arms Master that spoke.

-We'll have none of that here Lord Samarkand, the Academy-

--Is a god damn joke and despite being created by 'All nations' still holds Elianst's values, that of cowardice, above all others.

She shot lightning from her eyes, figuratively speaking, at Caroline.

-What else could you expect from a nation of glorified merchants calling themselves nobles, calling a defeat a draw. This fight or the whole war with Elianst agreeing to pay a tribute to the other nations, purchasing the peace in a war it couldn't win, and calling it a draw. Disgusting.

Revaz began to walk at a brisk pace out of the training ground.

-I swear once this joke of a truce ends I'll make the special effort yo go to your estate and burn it down...

The snake began to follow her at a much slower pace.

-Now now Lady Caroline, please do keep your skills sssharp until next time, only a total victory can make a Sssamarkand move on... that or death.

Caroline stayed where she was for a while. That girl, Samarkand her name was, was right. even though officially it had been a draw, she should have lost that match. If it were a real battle, she would have been dead, no matter what the rules said. A stomach punch? she berated herself mentally, standing up. Apparently the draw had counted as a win for both sides, as she watched Samarkand walk off unchallenged. She thought briefly about leaving, then turned around and picked up her blade, starting her drills again. I have to get stronger. I'm not good enough to protect myself, let alone anyone else. She continued drilling until she realized the field was mostly empty, ten minutes later. Packing up her gear, she walked back towards her room to get changed. Now that she was out of her sparring outfit, she felt a lot better. She smoothed out the folds in her blouse as she stepped out of her room, violin case under her arm.

They're outside now. Come, I shall carry you.

Henry made his way to a nearby window and found Granthar waiting for him with his head bowed. After climbing onto his familiar's back they set off at a loping run, the very ground seeming to shake to Henry at the massive tiger's footsteps. It was bare minutes before they were at the scene and he could see Henrietta on the ground with Gwen checking on her. He allowed himself to relax for a moment but then he saw the kidnapper charging at Gwen.

Yelling a warning, Henry stood up and hurled the spear like a javelin so that it plunged into the ground between the two girls and their assailant. The man pulled to a stop, saw Granthar with Henry standing on the back glaring down and retreated a few steps slowly before vanishing back inside. Henry called after him and swung down off Granthar's back but then his injury flared up and he lost his balance, tumbling onto the grass with a surprised grunt.

Careful, little one. Our shared strength is running out.

Henry groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and staggered over to Gwen and Henrietta with one hand over his wound as the flow blood out of it increased. He felt faint and weak but he had to check on them before he passed out.

"Please tell me you're both okay?"

---

Elaeria climbed out of the bath, the temperature so high she could barely see anywhere in the room and her skin was a bright red; she needed the temperature so high or else she did not feel clean. After changing into clean, casual clothes of leggings, cloth shirt and a wool jacket she left her room to find what events going on could keep her occupied. Classes were over for the day and another banquet was being held that evening, something she was not keen on after the trying events of the last one. Still, this time period had been set aside for the students to try and get to know one another outside of their normal social circles so she headed off towards the communal lounge in the building.

She passed one of the girls she had seen battling it on the training field, her name eluded Elaeria but nevertheless she bobbed her head politely and patted the girl on the shoulder.

"Well fought. Don't let that girl get in the way of why we're all here though." She said in absent minded way, her thoughts elsewhere.

That boy better not have gotten himself killed. I don't want to be the one looking after the girl.

Caroline started at the touch on her shoulder, and was even more surprised to see who it was. She was suddenly conflicted between feeling proud and molified. Before she could reply, the Princess of Fristha was gone. Composing herself, Caroline resumed walking. A minute later she reached her destination, a secluded spot behind the dorm where she could play. There was still an hour or so before she needed to be at the banquet, so she opened the case and took her instrument. She put the bow to the strings and started playing the first notes that came to her mind. as she focused on her music, the wind started picking up around her.

Across the Academy

Out of nowhere a strange voice spoke. It was kindly, authoritative and was everywhere; as if it were in the very minds of those who heard it.

"Good afternoon, students of the Academy. This is an important announcement: tonight's banquet has been brought forwards and will instead take place two hours from now. Please ensure that you prepare adequately and attend on time. That is all."

---

Elaeria sat on one of the ornately carved benches in the pavilion, retreating into the tranquil place to be with her thoughts. The Academy announcement had irritated her at first; the intrusion upon her thoughts less than welcome however she now had something to occupy her time. It came as a slight shock that apart from the Elianst nobles, embroiled in events that did not concern her, and the elder Anstarnian noble, who was nowhere to be found, she had no real acquaintances to pass the time with.

Fighting alone with only your own Household guard for company leaves you with few friends of one's own age, I suppose.

She quashed the thought quickly - she was a princess and heir to a throne upon which a young and frail boy say; her position didn't give her the chance or need to make 'friends.'

We must all be children sometime. You've been neglected it all your life so perhaps you should take that time back?

She didn't answer her familiar's suggestion and instead headed back to her rooms to prepare for the banquet.

Caroline was startled out of her focus by the announcement, and for a brief instant lost control of her magic. The wind that was gathering around her suddenly collapsed onto one spot and combusted, setting a nearby patch of dry grass ablaze. "Oh no." she said, quickly looking around for something to put it out. She saw a puddle of water in the shade, and once again reached for her magic. "Spark, help me." she said, concentrating. The familiar crackled into life beside Caroline and without a word wrapped himself around her arm. As she focused, the water rose from the puddle in a smooth stream, wound around her arm once and then continued to hover over the burning grass. Once there was enough, she relaxed her grip on the water and let it fall onto the fire, putting it out and leaving a scorched patch of earth underneath. Kneeling by the ground, Caroline sighed. "I shouldn't leave it like this. Spark, can you lend me some more of your energy? After this I'll let you take a long rest. You don't even have to join me at the Banquet." Reaching out to the familiar, Caroline grabbed what looked like a fistfull of lightning, and as she pulled it away, the electricity sunk into her hand. Placing her hand over the burnt grass as her familiar winked out, she focused on her magic one more time. Raising her hand, she coaxed the still living grass seeds into growth, covering the spot once more with lush grass. Finally done, Caroline sat backwards heavily on the ground, panting. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she tried to regain her breath. After a few seconds she gave up on trying to support herself and let her body fall the rest of the way until she was lying down on her back. Only then did she notice something that made her worry. Elaeria, Princess of Fristha, staring at her. She saw me. Caroline realized, She watched me use all four elements, something that shouldn't happen. Years ago Caroline had found out that her magic wasn't just focused on air, but she had kept it a secret. Her parents had told her that nobody had been able to use all four elements for centuries, maybe even millennium, so she had kept it to herself, afraid that she might become the reason for more fighting. Now somebody knew, she had carelessly thought she was alone, and let her secret out.

Gwen held Henrietta close, trying to shield the unconscious girl from any injury. But nothing happened. Instead from the corner of her eyes, she saw a javelin arc across the sky and land between them and the man. Both of their attentions turned towards the source. It was Henry riding Granthar. Brave, foolish, and horribly injured Henry, saving them again. In that moment Gwen blinked tears and quickly wiped them away on her sleeve. Relief rushed through her, even though she was angry at the foolish warrior for coming to their rescue.

Henry got off the tiger and fell. It only made the tears come faster. Stupid stupid stupid. He was being incredibly stupid right now. He stood up shakily and made his way to them. And Gwen saw it again, blood. He was bleeding again. A gush of blood slipped past his fingers as he tried to cover the wound. The girl looked away and let the tears flow.

"Please tell me you're both okay?"

Her blonde hair swayed slightly as he bobbed in a weak nod. Silence passed between them for a moment. She wiped her tears away before flashing a glare up at Henry. Her mouth opened to reprimand the already injured boy, but no words came. In that instant her eyes turned towards the tunnel they came out of. She could feel the snap of bone. It was too faint for human ears to hear, but the snap reverberated throughout her body. Then she heard the scream of the man.

From the tunnel, Fenrir emerged. The kidnapper’s leg was in his mouth as the wolf dragged the body towards them. Blood trickled down Fenrir’s fangs and black fur. The kidnapper was… still alive. Gwen knew that even though there was so much blood on the man. Fenrir stopped a few yards away and deposited the kidnapper on the ground and sat down besides the body.

"Good afternoon, students of the Academy. This is an important announcement: tonight's banquet has been brought forwards and will instead take place two hours from now. Please ensure that you prepare adequately and attend on time. That is all."

The bodiless voice startled all of them. But when the message ended, Gwen stood up and gently settled Henrietta down. She was a noblewoman of Elianst. There wasn’t time to dawdle in shock.

“Fenrir, Granthar,” She addressed both familiars. Fenrir waited for instructions while Granthar seemed more amused at being ordered around again. “Both of you stay here.” Henry was about to speak but she stopped him. “You’re in no shape to be moving. You stay here, I’ll go for help. Fenrir, keep a look out for anything suspicious. He may have more accomplices near by. We need him alive to get any information we can, so try to subdue him and not tear his throat out.” And with that Gwen left in search of teacher.

Henry nodded mutely, hardly in a position to resist Gwen's orders. Granthar agreed with the girl; he could feel it through their link and now that the immediate danger was past he could feel his strength slipping away. Opting to sit down rather than feint he collapsed onto the grass next to Henrietta after ripping the spear out of the ground and lay it across his lap.

"Two days and I'm already like this." He muttered to himself, checking on his injuries and estimating the time for his recovery. The result was not pleasing so he shoved it from is mind and instead tried to remain alert as possible although with the two familiars there he felt that there was little need to worry. Passed out, the kidnapper was no distraction for him although Henry still slowly crawled his way over to the limp body at Fenrir's feet. He sat for a moment to regain what little strength he had before working away at the mask the assailant wore, pulling it off his face without waking him up.

A quick patting down revealed the man had a few knives hidden on him so Henry threw them a fair distance away before he fully removed the mask.

"...Gerald?" He whispered as he saw the young man's face under the mask, swearing to himself.

You know him?

He looked up as he heard Granthar's voice in his head.

He's one of the Queen's Royal Knights.

---

Elaeria raised an eyebrow at the girl in a questioning manner having watched the display of all four elements. It wasn't mastery; that was for sure. However the use of any magic at their basic stage of education was impressive enough; use of four in quick succession was unnaturally advanced. She walked forwards towards the girl in whose eyes she could see a certain level of anxiety so she smiled disarmingly.

"You're an interesting young lady, Caroline." She said, presuming to use the girl's first name. After all, she was a princess; no one could accuse her of bad etiquette. "I can see you want to keep this a secret so I'll pretend I saw nothing. Still, remember that I know; we all need to keep our friends around us here. Who knows what could happen?"

Rather than elaborate she walked off, ignoring her familiar's questions and prepared for the banquet instead by changing into slightly more elaborate clothing.

I think I'll try and make use of that woman from Helgland; she might be useful in the near future.

Caroline didn't move for a few minutes, trying to figure out what she should do. It didn't seem like the Princess would tell anyone, but it sounded like she would hold it over her head. She closed her eyes, trying to quell the sudden headache she had. "That went better than I expected." said Spark, appearing over her head, "Be glad it wasn't that Samarkand girl. If it was, blackmail would be the least of your worries." Suddenly something clicked in her mind. She had heard the name Samarkand before, during one of her grandfather's stories. Samarkand was the name of a man he had fought in the war. Closing her eyes tighter, Caroline groaned. "Can I just start the day over? This is pretty much an unqualified disaster." a few minutes later, Caroline stood up, heading back towards her room and getting changed again, since there was soot and soil on her outfit. Making her way to the central tower in her light blue dress, Caroline did her best not to attract any more attention. Spark was gone now, taking his promised break wherever it was he disappeared to.

Stupid rules, Revaz still couldn't digest this 'Draw'. Still, she had other things to do. She damned the banquet being brought sooner, this made her schedule tight and despite how she had to make her way to the central tower, she had made a stop next to the main gate. After a few short minutes of waiting, the gates opened. Good, she wasn't late. She looked as about a hundred mounted soldiers in Helgland armor armors entered, the doors closing behind them. Revaz raised a hand in the air, showing her palm and 3 raised fingers. After a while, she saw one of the soldier raise his hand in the same fashion and Revaz smiled. Her 'arrangements' were proceeding as planed it seemed. With this, she turned around and began to run.

---

She quickly dressed, not in a robe, she found the notion of women wearing them to be demeaning, but in ceremonial armor. She again began to run to be on time at the central tower and stopped in front of its doors before entering, walking. As she came across Caroline she couldn't help but to look at her dress and send a look not of hate or anger, but of disdain. How Elianst women could be so submissive to their male counterpart as to lower themselves to dress in these impractical garments was alien to Revaz.

As she entered the main room, she quickly scanned the place for a seat and found what she was looking for on a table where two of her good friends, Prince Jochi of Helgland, wearing traditional silk robes, and Lord Beowulf of Anstarm, wearing an armor like her, had sat. Jochi was sitting straight with a regal posture while Beowulf was eating some bread to wait. Jochi spoke. "So?" Revaz looked annoyed. "So what? Of course my arrangements still work, who do you think I am?" Beowulf swallowed loudly the piece of bread he had in his mouth and spoke loudly with his thick accent. "And for tonight?" Revaz got herself some water in her glass from a pitcher. "Doesn't matter if the damn banquet happens sooner, I'll still do what I must."

It was as Elaeria headed out of her room and exiting the dormitory building that she came across the sweating, half unconscious messenger. The man's horse was lathered in sweat with the whites of its eyes showing from the strain; it looked ready to collapse at any moment. She took the reins so that the man could clamber off clumsily, saddle-sore after a long time travelling.

"Thank you, my lady." The messenger said, bowing deeply as he caught his breath. "Do you know where I can find Sir Henry of House Charlton?" He asked, still breathing heavily. A sealed tube wrapped in an oilskin bag was clutched tightly in his hands and there was a panicked look in the man's eyes which made Elaeria uneasy.

"I'm afraid he's most likely... indisposed. He was injured in a duel earlier and won't be ready to receive visitors just yet, I would imagine. I can pass any message onto him, if it is convenient." The man instantly took a step back, shielding his package with his own body; evidently its contents were worth more to him than his life.

"I cannot do that, my lady. I was instructed by the Queen herself that they must reach his hands or those of one of the others that she trusts. I have a list of names." He was wary of Elaeria, wary of the sharp look in her eyes and how it saw right through his defensive actions.

"My name is Elaeria, Princess Elaeria of House Mithran." The messenger nodded tightly, handing over the package.

"Your name was on the list, my lady. I apologise for my rudeness but this was a... heavy charge. Her Majesty was very specific; I'm afraid I cannot leave you until the message has reached Sir Henry and only he may read the contents of the letter inside." Elaeria had opened the bag and found the tube inside. She opened it and eyed the seal on the scroll inside; it was indeed that of the royal house in Elianst. She sealed the tube once again and handed the package back to the messenger.

"I understand it's importance. Let us head to the medical ward and see if Sir Henry is able to receive visitors. If not I am sure we can find Lady Ashburn; I am sure she was another on the list and most likely higher than myself." The messenger's reaction told her she had been dead on. As the man took the reins of his horse and wheeled it around she caught sight of another bag on the horse's rear. She could vaguely make out the shape of the contents and stopped as a chill ran up her spine.

"Tell me... what has happened to Eleshir?"

Her legs still ached, but she kept on walking. At this point she hoped the building would be more populated, but she still couldn’t find anyone. Was the medic still lying in the medical ward? Someone by now should have noticed surely.

Gwen approached the main entrance and saw a group of groundskeeper. At least that’s what she believed from the dirt on their heavy work gloves. Her sudden appearance made them pause in their conversation.

“There are injured people by the waterway. Please hurry, one is bleeding.” Gwen spoke quickly and gestured to the general direction where the group was lying. The group seemed stunned for a moment before taking action. One man directed a few to the medic ward to alert the medics while another went to fetch the head master. Gwen couldn’t get in a word about their attacker and that he was with Henry and Henrietta.

After a few moments of people running about, the blonde was left with the man who took charge of the situation.

“Are you alright milady?” He asked looking her over for injuries. Her clothes were wet and had a few dirt stains, but there was no blood.

“I’m alright. But-” Gwen began but was interrupted by the appearance of the headmaster. He was a large man and usually wore a serious expression. Gwen had only met him a few times with her father and he still had that grim face on, like he never smiled.

“What happened? I heard that a medic was found dead.”

“Yes. Henry Charlton, my friend was injured during training. Another friend Henrietta was visiting him in the hospital ward. I was coming to visit and found the medic dead, Henry knocked unconscious and Henrietta was missing. I pursued the kidnapper and luckily we caught and subdued him. He’s with Henry and Henrietta now.” Gwen explained. Both men stood in stunned silence, before the headmaster dismissed the other man.

“We’ll get this sorted. Are you alright?” His words were sharp, but the girl could see his concern.

“Yes, I just need to rest.”

The headmaster nodded. “Go to the medical ward. It should be cleaned up by now. Your friends should be joining you shortly.”

Gwen wanted to refuse. She really was alright, tired, but not injured. But Henry and Henrietta would be going to the ward. At least she could meet them there. It took her a moment, but she nodded. The headmaster bid her to go before leaving himself in the direction of the waterway.

Slowly Gwen walked back to where it all started. At least there was more people running about. The healers were in an uproar and were running about. The room where one of their own was killed was blocked off.

Gwen felt a sudden jerk from behind. An arm wrapped around her waist while a hand covered her mouth. Her first reaction was to bite down, but thick gloves protected the hand. She struggled and tried to call out. Whoever had a hold of her only tightened their hold.

“Stop struggling.” A man’s voice whispered into her ear. And for just a moment Gwen did from surprise. The voice sounded strangely very familiar. She felt herself be jerked again and her head hitting the stone walls.